• Published 3rd Jun 2017
  • 6,141 Views, 1,282 Comments

Cosmic Lotus - Goldfur



The Anomaly was a star in the Equestrian night sky that was unlike all the others in the heavens. Advances in science and magic had only deepened the mystery. Finally it was decided to send a starship to learn what they could. This is their story.

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Surprises

After the Federation scientists had determined that there were no inimical pathogens or parasites to be feared from the mana-beasts, they had been transferred to a specially prepared room with what they hoped were comfortable surroundings for them. An analysis of their biology suggested foods that might be suitable for their consumption, and several varieties were synthesized for the animals. Three out of the five offerings proved to be palatable, and the creatures were soon well-fed. They then all huddled together to sleep, mostly buried under some mattresses that had been supplied as bedding.

On the second day of their return journey, Wandering asked permission to go into their room and examine them closely in person.

“I would not advise that, Ambassador,” one of the scientists told him. “There’s too much we don’t know about them as yet, and they may be dangerous in ways we don’t know about.”

“That’s the whole point of me going in there – to learn those kinds of things. Besides, it’s not as if I don’t have defenses against many forms of attack.”

The scientist turned to Forestwalker, his superior. “What do you think, Shir?”

“Ambassador Path has a point, and he certainly has more knowledge of mana than we do. I’d say to let him go, but I think I had better check with the Admiral first, considering the Ambassador’s status.” The chakat went over to a nearby comm-screen and contacted Boyce. “Admiral – Ambassador Wandering Path wishes to enter the mana-beasts’ cage and try some tests in person.”

Boyce frowned. “That may be risky. What is your assessment?”

“I have not detected any overt threat from them. In fact, I suspect that these creatures are domesticated, and while that does not preclude a form of self-defense, I believe there’s no real threat to the Ambassador. The fact that he’s a herbivore may also be a mitigating factor.”

Boyce nodded. “Anything that we can learn about these creatures would be of value to us. If Ambassador Path feels he will be safe, then allow him access. Watch him closely at all times, however.”

“I certainly will, sir. Forestwalker out.” The chakat turned back to the others and said, “I suppose you heard the Admiral’s decision. Let’s give this a go.”

Wandering was not a fool; despite believing that the mana-beasts were basically harmless, he nevertheless put up a weak shield before entering the cage. His approach was immediately noticed, and all but one retreated to their pile of bedding. The remaining one stood its ground as Wandering cautiously approached. He probed it with a spell, and while he did not learn much, it seemed to perk up a bit. The alicorn stopped and laid down with one hoof extended, and the animal crept forward to sniff it. Then the tentacles around its snout gently wrapped around his hoof. Wandering was startled to feel mana flowing from him into the animal, and he let out a surprised, “Wha–?!”

“Is everything okay?” came the worried voice of Forestwalker over the intercom.

Realizing that the amount of mana flow was low and harmless, Wandering replied quietly in order to not startle the beast. “It’s alright – I was just surprised for a moment. I think it’s feeding on me.”

“Feeding? In what way?”

“It’s lapping away at my mana supply. I’m beginning to think that these mana-beasts are more similar to changelings than I had thought previously. While they eat physical food, they also need to consume mana like changelings consume love.”

“That’s actually more believable than eating emotions,” Forestwalker replied. “Don’t let it take too much from you though.”

“Don’t worry – I’m generating mana as fast as it is consuming it. I’m interested to see what it does when it’s replete.”

It took a few minutes, but eventually, the mana-beast unwrapped its tentacles from Wandering’s hoof and then went over to the other three. Everyone watched as its companions cautiously emerged and one meshed tentacles with it.

The alicorn sensed the flow of mana into it. “If I were to make a guess, I’d say it’s feeding its mate.”

“Or an offspring,” Forestwalker added. “Fascinating! I wonder how the Swarm kept these animals fed with mana?”

“Possibly food creatures that we did not see during our limited opportunity to explore their vessel.”

“I wonder what they do with all that energy?”

“Aside from staying alive? Maybe it powers some ability we haven’t learned yet, like changeling love energy powers their ability to transform.”

“It’s going to be interesting learning all their secrets. Are you done in there yet, Ambassador?”

“No – I think I’ll try to give the other two a feed also. They seem less wary now.” Wandering got up and slowly moved closer before laying down again. This time he had two hooves extended.

Cautiously the two unfed creatures came forward to sniff at the alicorn’s hooves as their companion had done. Then they also wrapped their tentacles around a hoof each and started feeding on his mana.

Wandering quietly said, “Judging by their caution and almost unnoticeable feeding, I’m thinking that they don’t harm their meal prey.”

“Up to a point, I can agree,” Forestwalker replied. “I’m reminded of vampire bats on Earth which feed on the blood of livestock. Too much feeding can be injurious, not to mention the possibility of passing on diseases. Of course it could be a commensal or mutualistic relationship, but I’m still leaning towards parasitic.”

“I don’t think disease is a problem, but you may be right about the excessive feeding. That’s going to be tricky to confirm though.”

“True, but it’s still a logical consequence.”

Wandering had to concede that shi was probably correct, but at least he was in no danger of being drained. He was getting hungry though. Using mana always worked up an appetite, and this was no different even if the use was unusual. When both creatures had enough, they left to join the other two, and they all seemed content to settle down for a nap. The alicorn decided that he had done enough for one day, and further experiments could wait for another opportunity. He wondered what Starry would think of him bringing aboard a couple of them as pets though. They were awfully cute, after all!


Boyce was positively beaming when he met up with the alicorns for lunch. Because it was mid-shift, they had it in one of the formal dining rooms rather than in Boyce’s private quarters where they had been having their meals every evening. Starry and Wandering normally preferred to eat with the crew at other times, but this was to be their final meal before rendezvousing with the Cosmic Lotus once more, and the Admiral had some news to impart as well. Neither pony needed to be an empath to tell that the news was very good.

“Spit it out before you burst,” Wandering said with a grin.

Boyce’s grin matched the alicorn’s. “I received word back from Star Fleet Command not long ago. They were so impressed with what we achieved with the Swarm that they have lifted all travel bans and ratified the agreements made between Equestria and the Federation. They have extended an invitation to come to Earth for further diplomatic talks, and in the meantime, they suggest that you visit Chakona. If you wish, the Prime Minister of Chakona would like to hold a banquet in your honor.”

“Whoa! That’s quite a turnaround from a few days ago. We would love to visit Chakona, but a banquet isn’t necessary. We’re explorers, Boyce. We like a party as much as anybody, but formal affairs are best left to the prince, princesses, and their diplomatic staff. You know we only have the title of ambassador because we’re here and they aren’t.”

“I realise that, but I suggest that you let them have this one thing. Chakona is the next world in the way of the Swarm, and you have alleviated a huge amount of worry with the discoveries you’ve enabled us to make. Let them show their gratitude and it will probably open a lot of doors for you.”

Wandering nodded. “You have a point. But do you want to know what I would really like most after that?”

“Several things come to mind, but tell me.”

“A vacation! Every single member of our crew has spent years without a holiday, and several of us have not hibernated for the entire journey. Starry and I have been on duty for over ten years, and we would love to have a break from all our responsibilities for a while. I can’t think of a better way to do it than playing tourist on Chakona for a week or so.”

“I can empathize with you there. I love my work in Star Fleet, but I always make time for my family. Speaking of which, could I offer you a place to stay a while? We have a home in Marpletown that is away from the hustle and bustle of the cities that you may like.”

Starry said, “That sounds nice, but we wouldn’t want to impose.”

Boyce chuckled. “Our place is built for a clan and is still only half utilized. Not only would we be able to put you up quite comfortably, but the family would also love to have you visit. If you doubt me, just ask Forest or Midnight. You think you threw a shindig on the Lotus? Wait until you see what a chakat party is like!”

Starry and Wandering glanced at each other and nodded. “Okay, you’re on,” Starry replied. “Besides, we’ve heard so much about your herd over the past few days, we’re curious to meet them in person.”

“Ha! Goldfur is going to get a laugh over calling the clan a herd. I’ll make sure shi gets plenty of warning. Hmmm… I’d better make sure that shi’s not on assignment at this time, although if my memory serves me correctly, shi’s not due to go out into the field again for another ten days or so.”

“It must be hard getting all the family together with so many of you in space-related jobs,” Wandering said.

“True. It’s rare that all of us are together at one time. I think that’s only happened once since we moved from Earth to Chakona.”

“Somehow I think we’ll be seeing a major portion of them anyway,” Starry said with a broad smile.

“Just wait until you get dogpiled by all the cubs!” Boyce replied with a matching smile.


Wandering and Starry made one last visit before they returned to the Cosmic Lotus. They went to the laboratory where the Swarm specimens were being kept. It was difficult to think of them as prisoners because their apparent animal-level of intelligence had not changed. Autopsies of the dead ones had not been conclusive, but their brains appeared to be inadequate to the task of being fully sapient beings, lending credence to the group-mind theory. Tests on the two living Swarm were being carried out to try to validate that idea, but with just two subjects, it was not proving to be an easy task.

One of the crew was a low-level telepath – a concept that the ponies found fascinating – but as suspected, he was not able to determine much. He could tell that there was some mind chatter but, because telepathy cannot translate, it was meaningless noise. The bulk of testing was going to have to be done by experts who were being gathered specifically for the task. Neither alicorn was able to offer any further help, and so they departed.

As the Pegasus pulled up next to the Cosmic Lotus, both Starry and Wandering were a little sad to end their side adventure but glad to be ‘home’. They both changed back into their Cosmic Lotus uniforms before returning to the ship after thanking Boyce and the others for the opportunity to see and learn so much. However, it was only a brief parting of ways because Wandering intended to have the scientists wind up their current activities in order for the ship to proceed to Chakona.

“Welcome back, Captain,” Bluequill said gravely.

“Thank you, Commander,” Wandering replied. “According to the reports that you sent me, the astronomers have been having the time of their lives.”

The griffon allowed a small smile to show. “You could say that.”

“Well, I hate to disappoint them, but they will need to wrap up their current observations and prepare for a move to Chakona. They can observe that planet if they like, but more importantly, other specialists in the crew will get their chance to pursue their interests. Besides, we’ve been invited to meet with the Chakonan government at the request of the Federation.”

“I will get preparations underway. May I ask if shore leave will be available when we get there?”

“Yes – probably for the ceremonies, but definitely afterwards. Starry and I plus a select few others will be visiting Boyce’s family the day before while all the details are being sorted out. Aside from some personal stuff, we will be keeping an eye open for any possible problems that will need to be avoided at the ceremony. We have to make a good first impression.”

“That would seem wise, sir. If you will pardon me, I will get started. I believe some of the crew will need strong incentive to put their work on hold.”

“Go ahead, Commander,” Wandering replied with a knowing smile. He clearly recalled how enthusiastic they had been when the Cosmic Lotus had been towed into Harpagornis’ orbit.

Surprisingly, it only took a couple of hours before all experiments and observations were concluded and the entire crew reported readiness. Wandering contacted the Pegasus and, a minute later, they were in tow once more. While the bridge was fully staffed, they actually had nothing to do until they reached Chakona with the exception of Wandering who was maintaining the mass-reduction spell. While the Pegasus was capable of towing the Equian ship without help, the cooperative effort between them enabled a much easier and quicker transition between the planets, and it was not long before they reached Chakona. At Techbird’s request, the Cosmic Lotus was inserted into a high polar orbit that would allow the astronomers to observe the entire planet. They were met by a small Chakona Defense Force ship purely as a courtesy, and it was accompanied by a specialist spaceship repair tender.

Arrangements had been made to make repairs and modifications to the Cosmic Lotus while in orbit around Chakona, and while they could not replace the solar sails, everything else that could be done was on the list. They would even be supplied with fuel for the maneuvering rockets once an adaptor could be devised. Wandering was impressed with the efficiency of the CDF crew. The Lotus had hardly finished settling into orbit before the first repair team had emerged from the tender and headed for the starship. Wandering noticed that they were all taurform though, and he expressed his curiosity to the Federation liaison who had accompanied the Equian crew.

Lieutenant Karnok grinned. “Looks like you got the top team working for you. Those are starwalkers, a type of foxtaur bred especially to live and work in space.”

“What makes them so special?”

“Well, aside from a superior spatial awareness and unbeatable ability to maneuver in freefall, they can actually survive unprotected in space for a useful amount of time.”

“What?! No force-field even?”

“Nope. Everything about their bodies is adapted to resist vacuum, radiation, and the need for air. In the event of an emergency, they can work without their spacesuits. If they push themselves into a dormant state, they can even survive for several hours.”

“And you say that our magic is impressive. Even an alicorn would quickly be killed under those conditions without a magic life-support bubble.”

“I suppose that if you have to do without magic, you learn other ways of getting around problems.”

Wandering had to agree with that assessment. He wondered what new amazing things he would learn on Chakona.

After all the crew had gotten a good look at the new planet and had settled into their assigned tasks, Wandering contacted Pegasus to say that he was ready and then left Bluequill in charge once more. He then met up with the rest of the party that would be going with Boyce down to his family home. Waiting for him were Starry, Eon, Skye, and Moonlit Path – the entire Path family aboard the Cosmic Lotus. Also present was Ixia whom Eon had requested to come along with him. Not only was Wandering loathe to interfere with their growing relationship, but he also felt it was a good idea to have a changeling along to represent her species to Boyce’s family. As Wandering was the last one there, he immediately teleported everyone to the shuttle bay of the Pegasus where they had arranged to meet up with the Admiral.

Boyce was waiting for them and he greeted the newcomers with a smile. “Welcome aboard the Pegasus to all who haven’t been here before. I’m afraid that you’ll have to get a tour at some later time though because we are expected down planet-side. I’ve already shuttled down Forest, Rosepetal, M’Lai, and Midnight, so if you care to board my personal skiff, we will get underway immediately and join them.” He indicated a small but warp-capable craft, and they all trouped aboard.

While the skiff did not have pony-style couches, it did have some taur-style ones that worked nearly as well, and Eon was comfortable enough in a biped chair. Ixia got around the problem by transforming into foxmorph form and buckling in as normal.

“Next stop – Marpletown!” Boyce announced after he got clearance from the Pegasus to depart. He skillfully maneuvered the skiff out of the bay and set it on course to their destination. “By the way, are you fond of practical jokes?”

“What did you have in mind?” Starry asked.

“Well, Goldfur and the rest of the family have been told to expect guests and that they would be from a newly-contacted civilization. However, specifics about you Equians haven’t been released to the general public as yet, and won’t be until the ceremony scheduled for tomorrow. They don’t know that you are ponies, and so forth. Now, as Wandering and Eon learned from Forest at our First Contact meeting, you ponies are remarkably cute by our standards.”

Starry grinned. “I think I see where you’re going with this. If we take off our uniforms, you think we’ll be mistaken for cute pets or something?”

Boyce nodded. “I was thinking that Eon might make a good front for you all as a dragon isn’t cute by any standard.”

“You better believe it!” the dracopony said emphatically, but he grinned at the thought of pretending that Starry and Wandering were his ‘pets’.

“I can transform into a dragon too,” Ixia suggested. “That way you have a pair of explorers with their equine pets meeting your family.”

Wandering looked around at his family and saw the smiles of amusement on all their faces. “I think you have an agreement, Boyce. We all like a harmless practical joke.”

“Great! We’ll be there soon, so practice keeping your emotions in check. Remember that chakats are empathic, so if you want to fool Goldfur or any other chakat, you have to play it cool.”

“Won’t Forest or the others have given us away though?” Starry asked.

“I thought of that earlier and asked them to keep everything about you a secret. It’s supposed to be a surprise,” Boyce assured her.

As they closed in on their destination, Boyce angled the craft for a favorable view and gave a running commentary, pointing out the features of the world. “We are now over Flinders Continent. Near the northwest end of the continent, you may be able to make out Amistad, the capital city of Chakona and the landing site of the first colonists. Southeast of that you can see an enormous lake named Silvergleam. It not only supplies water to much of the continent but is also a major source of hydroelectric power.”

“How did such a huge lake form?” Skye asked.

“It’s the legacy of a super-volcano that blew its top ages ago. The caldera that remained eventually filled with rainwater, and because there’s only one outlet for it at Silvergleam Falls, we have a virtually inexhaustible supply of fresh water.”

Eon had become alert at the mention of a volcano. “Is the continent still geologically active?” he asked eagerly.

“As a matter of fact, yes. Chakona is a relatively young world and there is certainly a lot of geothermal activity around the world.”

“Any active lava pits?”

“I believe so, yes. Ask Forest about them later; shi’s more familiar with that kind of thing. Why the interest?”

“It’s similar to the Dragon Lands. I’m a little homesick for them.”

“Fair enough. Anyway, to the south of that about halfway down the continent lies Marpletown. It’s a quiet little township that serves the timber industry in the region.”

“It seems to be a long way from the capital or another major city,” Moonlit commented.

“Yes, but it suits us. I have no difficulty getting to my ship or anywhere on the planet with this skiff, and then there’s always the Transporter beam option in an emergency. The family enjoys the relative isolation, and it has enabled us to have a clan-sized home to live in. Marpletown is linked to the high-speed train system, so travelling anywhere on the continent is only a matter of a few hours at most.”

“Sounds very nice,” Skye said. “I hope we’ll get the opportunity to do a little bit of exploring while we’re visiting. I’m quite interested in learning about the local flora.”

“Aside from the formal ceremonies tomorrow, there will be plenty of time to do that,” Boyce assured them.

“It’s what we came to do in the first place,” Wandering said. “Explore, discover, and learn! You’ll have plenty of opportunities to pursue that, Skye.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“I still find it interesting that a pony has an adopted zebra daughter,” Boyce commented.

“One of these days I might tell you the entire story behind that,” Wandering replied.

“I’ll look forward to it. Meanwhile, we are getting close to our destination and I need to concentrate more on flying the skiff.”

Conversation lapsed as the small craft was piloted skillfully to its destination, and eventually landed with scarcely a noticeable bump. Trees could be seen through the windows, and part of a building, but little else from what appeared to be a landing pad set aside for the skiff and similar vessels.

“All ashore those are going ashore!” Boyce cheerfully announced as he unbuckled himself.

Everyone got out of their seats and couches, and the ponies and zebra started taking off their ship uniforms. Boyce showed them where they could stow them until they were needed again. Ixia had not needed to take hers off before she had shape-shifted due to the adaptation enchantments on it, and when she transformed into a dragoness, it once again changed to suit her new body configuration. Boyce opened the airlock door when everyone was ready, and they started to disembark.

Outside the craft, waiting for Boyce and his passengers were quite an assortment of beings. Foremost among them was a cougar-patterned chakat and a red foxtaur accompanied by some other chakats and foxtaurs, several fox morphs, plus a few other assorted morphs. They greeted Boyce enthusiastically before turning their attention to the dragons that had followed him.

“I’d like to introduce you to Eon and Ixia of the Equian starship, Cosmic Lotus,” Boyce announced loudly. “Please give them a warm family welcome.”

The family members crowded around to give a personal welcome to the pair before noticing the two ponies who had just then come shyly into the doorway. The cubs in the crowd were the first to react.

“Omigosh! Look at them!” one foxtaur cub cried out, drawing attention to Starry and Wandering.

“They look adorable! Especially with those wings and horns,” Goldfur said.

“They are Eon and Ixia’s travelling companions,” Boyce explained with a straight face.

Goldfur gave him a look, sensing there was something he was not telling them. Then she turned to the dragons and asked, “Is it okay to let the cubs interact with them?”

“Oh, yes – they’re quite harmless,” Eon replied with a small smirk.

Wandering shot the dragon a sharp look at that crack but otherwise kept in character.

As the two alicorns timidly stepped down onto the landing pad, the children were given permission to approach the ponies, and soon several were petting him and Starry in a not unpleasant manner.

“Look – there’s more!” one cub shouted.

Moonlit and Skye stepped out to join them, and it was obvious that the unicorn was struggling to hold down her amusement. With the crowd of delighted children about them though, even the empaths had difficulty sensing from whom it was coming. Goldfur stepped up to scratch behind Wandering’s ears, and he nickered in pleasure.

“You like that, do you?” the cougar chakat asked with a smile. “Want some more?” shi asked.

“Yes, please,” he said, leaning into the hand.

Goldfur froze and gaped.

“Aw! You stopped,” the alicorn stallion complained.

Goldfur’s eyes shifted to the Admiral. “Boyce – what’s going on?”

Boyce’s face split into a grin. “Let me introduce you to Wandering Path, Captain of the Cosmic Lotus, and his mate, Starry Path. The other two are Moonlit Path and Skye Path. Eon is only the Security Chief of their ship.”

Goldfur turned a slightly horrified look at Wandering. “Oh my god! I’ve been treating the head of an expedition from a new civilization like a pet!”

Wandering smiled reassuringly. “Don’t panic. It’s a practical joke arranged by Boyce. We were all in on it.”

Goldfur gave Boyce a sour look. “Just you wait, mister! I’ll get even with you for this.”

Boyce just shrugged. “Your sister thought it was a funny idea too. Go give hir a hard time for not warning you.”

Goldfur just sighed and turned back to the amused ponies. “My apologies, Captain. When I saw wings on a cute pony, I naturally thought that you were the result of genetic manipulation.”

“Because I couldn’t possibly be able to fly, right?” Wandering replied.

“Exactly. Earth produced a lot of odd creatures for the amusement of the rich and decadent in the bad old days. So how come you have wings anyway?”

“Boyce knows the answer to that.”

Goldfur looked back to the human. “And that is…?”

“To fly, of course,” he replied innocently.

The chakat gave him a flat look. “Very funny. Joke’s over, Boyce.”

Starry said, “Y’know, this is the first time in over ten years when we can really stretch our wings. Shall we, Wander?”

Wandering nodded, and they both spread their wings and took off into the sky. Goldfur was not the only person left gaping at the impossible sight of two equines cavorting in the sky, unhampered by walls at last.

“Boyce,” Goldfur said quietly without taking hir eyes of the two.

“Yes, Goldie,” Boyce replied, similarly entranced despite knowing how it was possible.

“If this is a trick, you win.”

“No trick – just magic.”

“I believe you.”

The rest of the family were similarly engrossed in watching the alicorns enjoy their flight, but the cubs were extra excited.

“Hey, mom! If I got wings like them, could I fly too?” one asked.

Goldfur honestly had no answer for that one.


The demonstration of magical flight left open the minds of the rest of the family to the concept of real magic, and a few practical demonstrations had convinced them that it was not all a great hoax. With dinner almost ready, they all retired to the house to ready themselves for the meal. Reassured that clothing was optional there, the ponies and zebra chose to leave their uniforms in Boyce’s skiff. The guests were shown their rooms first and where they could freshen up, and the Equians got their first inkling of how big a chakat clan house was. Built to accommodate several families, it was still nowhere near capacity even with all the guests. Best yet, it had been constructed with an appreciation for nature, and their rooms were well lit with views of the surrounding forest. There was a huge central courtyard with gardens, lawn, and a pool in one corner. In the current warm weather, the courtyard doors were all open to allow the flow of fresh air into the house, and the scent of flowers and trees filled the atmosphere. The ponies and zebra approved heartily.

As the family gathered for the meal, they were all introduced to their guests. The Equians had already met Goldfur’s sister, Forestwalker, but they were introduced to another named Quickpaw. Goldfur’s lifemate, Garrek, a red foxtaur, introduced his co-mates, Malena and Thayla who were also red foxtaurs, plus Lorene, a four-breasted golden foxtaur. His triplet young adult sons by Malena were also there, but apparently, there were other grown-up sons and daughters who could not be present that day. There were a few much younger ones though, and Wandering soon lost track of their names. That was just the foxtaurs though. Then there were all the chakat children, both fully-grown and youngsters, and finally, there was a foxmorph trio – a male red fox named Kris, a female Arctic fox name Trina, and a herm fennec fox named Leanna, with their children, Opal, Mica, and Markus. Boyce was finally able to introduce his daughter, Kayla, and his son, Kernos, who was spending some time with his father’s side of the family rather than on Raksha. Even after adding in a few significant others, the house was still not too crowded.

“This so reminds me of home,” Starry said.

“Yeah – House Path’s banquet hall isn’t all that much bigger than this dining room,” agreed Wandering.

“Well, we don’t have staff, so everyone has to pitch in,” Forestwalker said as shi helped serve up some of the food. “All except guests, that is. By the way, we made extra non-meat options when preparing the meal, so feel free to have as much as you like.”

“Great, thanks!” Wandering replied.

Surprisingly, the guests got to eat without too many interruptions as the family politely allowed them to enjoy their repast with the single exception of one very young chakat who climbed onto Starry’s back and refused to move. The mare tolerated hir with amusement, and once dessert was finished, all restraint was lost, and they were bombarded with questions and requests for demonstrations of magic and pony-back rides. Ixia caused a sensation with her shape-changing ability too, and she was the first to retire for the evening, complaining of feeling a bit bloated with all the love and other positive feelings she had consumed in a few short hours.

Once the cubs had been put to bed, the adults continued chatting late into the evening before they started to call it a night by ones and twos, some of them needing to get up early for work in the morning. When Wandering and Starry finally headed for their guestroom, it was only because they knew they would have a full day ahead of them, and not because they were tired. In fact, the overwhelmingly friendly welcome that they had gotten had left them feeling energized, and in Starry’s case, not a little horny.

Wandering smirked at Starry’s overtures and said, “You do realize that all the chakats in this house can probably sense any hanky-panky going on in this room?”

Starry giggled as she nuzzled him. “In this house, I think that’s a feature of every night.”

The stallion had to concede the point and he put it out of his mind. He had a mate to satisfy.


The alicorns found Eon and Ixia already at the table when they came out for breakfast in the morning. The dragon was helping himself to a generous pile of bacon and eggs while the changeling settled for a mug of coffee. Various members of the family were also seated, and Leanna was serving up food. The fennec spotted Wandering and Starry approaching and gave them a smile.

“Good morning! I trust you slept well? I’m on kitchen duty this morning so let me know what you would like.”

“Yeah, we slept very well, thanks,” Starry replied. Noting what had already been served to the others, she added, “I’d like the fruit salad, and is that yoghurt?”

“Yep – plain vanilla. What about you, Wandering?”

“Cereal and scrambled eggs on toast, please. Oh – and some of that heavenly-smelling coffee too.”

Leanna grinned. “Another coffee fiend, eh? Take a seat and I’ll have your food out soon.”

The two ponies sat at the table and Ixia greeted them. Eon just waved a fork in acknowledgement while his mouth was still full of food. Boyce soon emerged from the kitchen carrying two mugs of steaming coffee and he placed one in front of the stallion.

“Good morning, Starry. Here’s your coffee, Wandering. I remember how you like it.”

Wandering smiled as he inhaled the aroma. “I suspected that it was you brewing this up. You make excellent coffee.”

“Thank you,” Boyce replied as he took a seat next to the ponies.

As Wandering took his first sip of the hot coffee, Starry asked, “Aren’t you having any food, Boyce?”

“I’ve had mine already. I was up early to get ready for today,” he replied as he pulled a small PADD from his pocket.

“When are we supposed to meet the Chakonan Prime Minister?”

“At 1100 C.U.T. That’s equivalent to about one o’clock by your reckoning.”

“So the morning is completely free?”

“Yes. Did you have anything in mind?”

“Not me – Eon,” she replied, pointing at the dracopony.

Eon looked up from his meal. “Really?” he asked hopefully.

Wandering said, “Starry and I have had a bit of a vacation already, so it’s time to let you two choose the fun.” He turned to Boyce. “Forestwalker confirmed that there’s an active lava field further south of here. Can we visit that this morning?”

“Certainly. As long as there’s somewhere that I can land my skiff, I can take you anywhere.”

“Let’s do that then. I’d be happy to do a little sightseeing before we have to get down to business.”

“What about the others?”

“We’ll ask Skye and Moonlit what they want to do when they turn up for breakfast.”

“Sounds like a plan. Looks like your food is here, so eat up and I’ll make preparations for our trip.”


Skye had elected to do a little exploration of the nearby woods with Forestwalker as her guide. Moonlit chose to go with her as she was not very interested in lava fields. Ixia naturally accompanied Eon, and Goldfur and Garrek both decided to come along too.

Once aloft, the skiff flew south at supersonic speeds at high altitude for a brief time before diving down, coming to a hover at a thousand meters. From there, the passengers could see a vast area dominated by steaming vents and bubbling mud pools.

“Over there!” Eon pointed excitedly at a small caldera.

Boyce maneuvered the skiff over to an area of bare rock that was reasonably level before setting down. He shut down the skiff’s systems before turning to his visitors with a serious expression on his face.

“I did a little reading up on this area, and while there’s no likelihood of any eruptions, there are geysers of boiling water to avoid, not to mention the mud pools that will kill you in seconds if you fall in. So please be careful out there. I don’t want to be the Star Fleet officer famous for getting the envoys from a new civilization cooked while sightseeing.”

Everyone promised to be careful, while Eon just nodded happily.

They all exited the skiff, stepping out onto what once was flowing lava but now was barren basalt. Eon was allowed to choose the way as he had a definite goal in mind, and the others followed carefully. The air reeked of sulphur, and mist from small geysers occasionally drifted their way, but overall the walk was not too onerous. Then they started uphill as they reached the caldera.

“I think this is as close as we had better go,” Boyce said. “That is an active lava pit that occasionally will spit out gobs of molten rock.”

“Sounds perfect,” Eon declared as he spread his wings and took off towards the rim.

Boyce gaped in horror. “Stop! The heat will fry you even from the rim without protective suits!”

“Stop panicking, Boyce. Eon knows what he’s doing,” Wandering reassured him.

Goldfur said, “Unless there are some major differences between our definitions of lava, no, he doesn’t!”

“Too late – he’s gone over the rim,” Boyce said.

Wandering looked at Starry. “I’ll carry Boyce and Ixia if you carry Goldfur and Garrek?”

Starry nodded and they both spread their wings and lifted into the air. Their horns lit up and glows surrounded their companions as they too levitated up off the ground.

“Wait! What are you doing?” Goldfur asked nervously as they started following in Eon’s path.

“Showing you why we’re not worried,” Starry replied with a grin.

“I can hear Eon groaning in pain!” Goldfur cried.

“I doubt it,” Wandering replied. “Don’t worry about the heat – our shields will block it.”

The alicorns and their passengers crested the rim and came to a hover. From there they could see the dragon half immersed in the red-hot lava, groaning in pleasure. He spotted them and grinned happily.

“It’s the first decent hot tub soak I’ve had in over a decade, and it’s so-o-o-o good!”

The alicorns returned his grin and laughed at the shocked expressions on the faces of their hosts.

Boyce sputtered, “But that’s… he can’t… oh, COME ON!”

“Dragons are immune to heat, Boyce,” Wandering said matter-of-factly.

The human glared at the alicorn. “Now you tell us.”

Goldfur suddenly started laughing. “They did tell me, actually. While I found it hard to believe, I saw an opportunity to get you back for your practical joke yesterday, so I asked them not to tell you and played along with the gag.”

Boyce grimaced in chagrin. “You got me good, Goldie. I should have known better.” He looked back to Wandering. “Let this be a warning to you Equians – my family is a pack of incorrigible pranksters, and the longer you stay with us, the more likely you’ll be a victim.”

Wandering chuckled. “Let me tell you about our herd-brother, Flix…”

# # # # # # # # #

Author's Note:

Humor is universal, and so are practical jokes.

Anyone feel the urge to join Eon? It looks really pleasant.

Art by Foxenawolf.

Art money and equally valuable pre-reading by Airy Words. Thanks, mate!